Skin Deep
by Azurite
Summary: The new school year has started... so where's Momo? Kako might know...


Skin Deep  
A Peach Girl Fanfiction  
Version 2.0  
(Because 1.0 is now gibberish)  
By Azurite  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
YAHOO! Is REALLY starting to suck, with their  
charging for using Outlook Express, fewer  
webspace, and automatically signing up for  
crap... GRR... I need to get a moonromance.com  
or fanfiction.net email now...   
http://www.geocities.com/azurite_moon/peachgirl.html  
WAHOOOOOOO! I finally have ALL 12 volumes of Peach Girl!  
Now all I have left is the artbooks. ^^ Yatta!  
------------------------------------------------------  
Kiley Okayasu distractedly tapped his mechanical pencil  
from side to side, making a soft 'click-clacking' noise  
on his desk. He'd long since finished the in-class   
assignment, and whatever the teacher was saying was like  
the incessant drone of a bee.   
He glanced -or rather, stared- at the empty desk beside him.  
Momo's desk. It had been a week and a half since school  
started up again, and he was finally in the same class with  
Momo. Unfortunately, so was Sae, and worse, so was Toji.   
Kako, Sae's reformed-lackey, was also in the class, but sat  
on the other end of the room, and rarely ever talked with   
Kiley to begin with.   
  
Since Sae had been humilated the day before school ended earlier  
in the year, she sat in the rear of the class, quiet and alone.  
Everyone knew they were better off for it-- it meant Sae wouldn't  
try to destroy their lives for her own amusement. However, since  
Momo -as their "celebrated heroine" wasn't back either, it was  
a bit unnerving.   
  
When lunch finally arrived, Kiley nibbled out of his bentou box  
while leaning on a window sill. He was barely aware of the other  
students in the room, as all he could think about was Momo. He  
hadn't seen her all summer, despite his calls. He wondered if  
he had gotten ahold of the "blonde bombshell" that was Momo, would  
she have kept the promise to him to go to the beach...?  
  
When Kiley tried to conjure up an image of the fair-haired and  
dark skinned maiden that had... well, captured his thoughts, he  
found himself drawing a blank, a fact that scared him. The only  
memory of Momo that remained from the previous school year three  
months before was a faceless dummy, with tan skin and blonde hair.  
  
So surprised at this was he that Kiley looked up from the window,  
bewildered. His hearing slowly came back into focus, and he  
heard the snippets of a nearby conversation:  
  
"...seen Momo, Kako?"   
"..." Kiley turned around and saw Toji not far away, talking to Kako,  
Sae's former-lackey. After Momo had saved the girl's life, Kako  
treated Momo more and more like a friend, and Momo had repeated the  
gesture in kind. However, it seemed as though she too, knew nothing  
more than the rest of the class about where Momo was.   
"You know where Momo is, Kako?" Kiley asked, striding up to the pair,  
a grim expression on his face. For some reason, he had a bad feeling  
in the pit of his stomach-- and where Momo was concerned, he was  
worried that such a feeling might come true.   
  
"...I really shouldn't say..." Kako began in a soft voice, turning  
away from the intense stares of both boys. Toji and Kiley exchanged  
a brief glance, and turned back to Kako.   
"So you *do* know?" Toji demanded.   
"..."   
"Dammit Kako, we wouldn't be so worried if we didn't care!" Kiley   
yelled, slamming his hand on the table. He effectively got the  
attention of Kako, as well as the few other students in the class.  
Upon seeing Kiley's enraged expression, they pretended not to stare  
and soon went back to their own conversations.   
  
"...She told me not to say anything, though..." Kako murmured, grabbing  
her arm and looking at her feet. If she told them... what would they  
think? What if Sae found out, and...  
'I couldn't let Sae exploit Momo in her condition... But Kiley and  
Toji *really* care...'   
Kako was at war with herself, wondering if she should really tell  
the two boys with obvious affections for the school's black sheep  
and new swimming champ about what she knew.   
  
For a moment, she looked at their expressions -so sincere, full  
of worry, affection for their missing classmate, and...   
'Fear...?' Kako noted the sheer worry mixed with the latter emotion  
on Kiley's face. Of all people to care so deeply about Momo, it  
didn't make sense that Kiley was one. But... he did.  
  
"...she's in the hospital." Kako said after a moment, and waited  
for the boy's reactions. She studied Kiley, then Toji's face carefully,  
and without surprise, noted how they both blanched white. However, they  
were silent in the face of this information, and so Kako swallowed hard  
and continued.   
  
"...she's dying."   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
Soo... what does everyone think?  
I know, Peach Girl and DRAMA? Has it not been done before? ^^; I think  
yohko's "Utagaibukai" does a great job, and so does Megan's "On a   
Starry Night." But I seriously want to try the multi-chapter, realistic  
side of PG. Okay, maybe I've stretched facts a LITTLE, but not too   
much.  
Do review! 


End file.
